Ghosts!

[After a long period of running, your Strength has increased]

[Strength Proficiency +2]

[Bear-type Strength: 122/1000]

Seeing the prompt, or perhaps due to psychological suggestion, Chen Guan felt his strength had indeed grown just a fraction.

Chen Guan didn't dwell on it; his priority right now was to flee.

However, being able to train his inherited talent while on the run was a silver lining.

So, run he would.

Chen Guan picked up his pace and continued his escape.

Yet, even while running, Chen Guan was thinking about the "Low-grade Fire Spirit Root" talent.

It was an "inheritance" from the old man in his past life.

What was needed to trigger it?

Or was it possible for him to cultivate fire-attribute techniques?

Whoosh—

An arrow flew past Chen Guan's ear.

The sudden danger cut his train of thought short.

For now, focusing on the escape was what mattered most.

Chirp, chirp~

Three hours later.

Between some gloomy dark clouds, moonlight spilled through the gaps in the canopy, stirring up a chorus of insect calls.

The air was damp.

It felt like rain was coming.

Deep in the forest, Chen Guan hid behind a large rock, panting heavily.

In the stifling, humid weather, he plopped his big rear onto the ground and sprawled out his limbs, having absolutely no desire to move.

[Strength +3]

For now, only the proficiency prompts provided Chen Guan with any sense of satisfaction.

As long as he kept running, he would keep getting stronger.

"Damn it..."

A hundred meters away, behind a tree, the Head Constable and his group of constables were having a miserable time.

Facing the ubiquitous mosquitoes in the forest, the potential for wild beasts to appear, and the need to occasionally leave markers along the way, the constant back-and-forth had left them physically and mentally exhausted.

Yet, driven by the sunk cost fallacy, they had already pursued the target for too long, and they had even sent people to notify the local elders.

If they retreated now, all their previous efforts would be wasted, and they would lose all face.

They were now in a position where they were riding a tiger—or in this case, a bear—and couldn't get off.

"Boss... how about... we head back first?"

At this moment, a clear-headed constable spoke up, not wanting to linger in the dangerous forest any longer, lest they lose their own lives before catching the black bear.

As he spoke, he shook the arrows in his quiver.

Only two were left.

Once they were all spent, they would have no trump cards left and no means to restrain the black bear.

When that time came, the black bear would surely show its fangs.

"I want to try again... just a little further..."

Facing the dissuasion of his men, the Head Constable remained unwilling to give up.

Seeing that they couldn't persuade him, what else could the other constables say?

Rumble—

Just then, a continuous roll of thunder suddenly erupted in the sky, and a long-awaited downpour broke through the stifling heat.

The field of vision blurred instantly.

"I didn't think it would actually rain..." one constable frowned, "It really started?"

"This isn't a good thing." A middle-aged constable spoke up with concern, looking pointedly at the head constable, "Chief, are we still pursuing?"

"Pursue...?"

At this moment, perhaps doused by the rain, the head constable's stubbornness had faded significantly.

"Forget it! Let's find a place to shelter from the rain first, and stay away from the trees..."

The black bear was already difficult enough to deal with, and now the environment had turned hostile.

To keep chasing would truly be gambling with their own lives.

Although the head constable had the typical hesitations and persistence of an ordinary man, he ultimately valued his life.

"Let's go..."

"Wait until the sky clears..."

Hearing the head constable's order, the other constables breathed a sigh of relief and followed him to find nearby shelter from the rain.

Meanwhile.

As a black bear, Chen Guan's eyesight was poor, but his hearing and sense of smell were quite keen.

In particular, the black bear he had possessed was far more extraordinary than those in reality.

A real bear could only hear from about two hundred meters away, but he could hear from over three hundred meters out.

Whoosh—

Amidst the noisy downpour, Chen Guan listened carefully and faintly caught the sound of human footsteps breaking branches as they retreated into the distance.

"One... two... four... they have all gone far away..."

Confirming that all six of them seemed to have left due to the gloomy rain, Chen Guan did not linger, instead heading in the opposite direction.

Of course, Chen Guan was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep right where he was.

But the consequence might be getting ambushed by other beasts while he slept.

Furthermore, Chen Guan didn't want to wake up to find the sky bright and clear, surrounded by the grinning head constable and his group of reinforcements.

He ran and walked for another hour.

The heavy rain continued.

Chen Guan felt incredibly heavy; his fur was soaked through, adding to his own body weight.

But the training effect was there.

This time, he had gained another 2 points.

The total reached [Primary Ursine Strength: 127/1000].

In just five hours, he had farmed 7 points!

"Wait, I need to find a safe place to shelter from the rain. Let's see if I can hit 10 for the day and round it off without exhausting myself..."

The fully digitized display, where effort yielded returns, made Chen Guan's desire to grind grow immensely.

Rumble—

Half an hour later.

The thunderstorm persisted, and it seemed to be getting even heavier.

Chen Guan no longer knew where he was, but he spotted a dilapidated temple in a clearing in the woods ahead.

It was a good place to shelter from the rain and hide temporarily.

Seeing no firelight, it appeared to be uninhabited.

Chen Guan cautiously approached, his round ears twitching on both sides like sensitive radar, listening for any sounds from within the temple.

A moment later, he arrived cautiously in front of the temple.

Chen Guan hugged the doorframe and stepped into the temple.

The next second.

Although the temple was empty, Chen Guan felt an indescribable chill.

Ghost stories always feature ghosts in dilapidated temples; now it really is a world of Gods and Devils...

Chen Guan felt a bit panicked and glanced at the ruined statue in the temple.

"Gods protect me..."

Chen Guan mimicked humans, clasping his hands together in prayer just like in the TV shows, clumsily seeking a blessing.

After finishing this, Chen Guan took advantage of the lightning outside to observe the back of the temple.

There was a door leading to the backyard.

The backyard held only the sound of rain, with no human voices.

Whoosh—

He approached the backyard.

As he reached the door to the backyard, Chen Guan intended to find a room or something similar to rest in, but the moment his front limb crossed the threshold, the threshold seemed to suddenly come alive and grew a segment longer.

Chen Guan hadn't expected this turn of events and couldn't react in time; in the pitch-black darkness, he tripped and splashed into a puddle of viscous liquid ahead.

Beside it stood a locust tree snapped by lightning.

These viscous liquids were a mixture of locust tree ash and muddy water, carrying a peculiar, fishy, sweet scent.

Gurgle—

Chen Guan rose from the puddle, instinctively shaking his body to shed some of the stickiness.

He turned back to look.

Chen Guan wanted to see what exactly was wrong with the threshold.

But as he looked, and as he shook, Chen Guan started to tremble for real.

Because the threshold was eerily floating in the air!

And behind the threshold lay the mummified corpse of what looked like a seven or eight-year-old girl.

In this situation, it was highly likely that the mummy was haunting the place!

"Gods of the temple... I prayed to you, but it seems you can't quite keep your house in order, damn it..."

Chen Guan was somewhat afraid.

Yet, at the same time as he felt fear, while most people facing a life-or-death crisis involving ghosts might be paralyzed, terrified, run for their lives, or fight to the death, Chen Guan was the latter.

Amidst the fear that made his scalp tingle, his adrenaline surged to its peak.

At worst, I'll just reincarnate!

Chen Guan, now standing upright in a mix of excitement and fear, faced the floating threshold, gathered all his strength, lunged forward two steps, and swiped a paw at it!

Crash—

The next second, the weathered, rotten wooden threshold was shattered by the immense force.

Chen Guan's momentum didn't cease; he stumbled several more steps and slammed into the back wall.

Thud.

Chen Guan's weight of several hundred pounds nearly collapsed the stone wall, leaving visible cracks.

But precisely because he was near the door, he could see the space behind the statue.

In that moment, illuminated by the thunder and lightning outside the temple amidst the pouring rain, behind the girl's corpse stood a translucent figure of a little girl.

In terms of height alone, they seemed somewhat similar.

Now, she was looking at Chen Guan with curiosity.

Is this a ghost?

It was Chen Guan's first time seeing a ghost, and his movements came to a complete halt.

When the little girl saw that Chen Guan seemed able to see her, she timidly drifted back a distance.

Because it was also her first time seeing a bear that acted so much like a human, a bear that would pray to a statue.